“Coach Flood’s actions in communicating with the faculty member crossed a line that all faculty hold dear,” Robert L. Barchi, the university’s president, said in a statement. “Our faculty must have complete independence in executing their duties and there is a reason why we prohibit athletics coaching staff from discussing the academic standing of students with faculty.”

The university is investigating whether N.C.A.A. rules were violated, Barchi said.

Along with Barchi’s statement, Rutgers released a redacted version of a 21-page report prepared for it by a New Jersey law firm. The report found that Flood violated a university policy barring coach-faculty contact and potentially violated the university’s code of ethics.

According to the report, an academic adviser reported informing Flood of the no-contact policy after Flood had contacted the professor but before he and the professor met in person. Flood denied that the conversation took place and insisted he had not been aware of the policy, although he apologized “for the mistake I made in process, in contacting that teacher.”

“Coach Flood is specifically tasked with knowing both N.C.A.A. and our institutional policies regarding these issues,” Barchi said. “Simply, Coach Flood has no excuse for not knowing the rule and following it.”

In a statement released Wednesday, Flood said, “I take full responsibility and accept the consequences of my actions.”

Flood’s suspension is the latest event in a tumultuous few weeks for Rutgers. Earlier this month, the team dismissed five players after they were arrested by the police; four face assault charges in what the authorities described as an “unprovoked attack,” while another was accused of being involved in a series of robberies. One of the students charged with assault, the junior Nadir Barnwell, is reportedly the student Flood contacted the professor about.

Earlier this week, wide receiver Leonte Caroo, previously a senior captain, was charged with assaulting a woman he was dating. He has pleaded not guilty. Flood suspended him indefinitely.

Last Friday, the Rutgers board of governors met in an unusual closed-door session to discuss “athletics matters” and potential pending litigation.

The report released Monday found that Flood repeatedly contacted a faculty member, whose named was redacted but has been reported to be from the Mason Gross School of Arts, regarding the academic eligibility of a player. NJ Advance Media first reported the allegation.

Flood’s emails to the professor were sent from a personal account. According to an academic adviser, this was to prevent the emails from being susceptible to a request under freedom of information laws that typically apply to public institutions, including Rutgers, New Jersey’s flagship public university. Flood declined to deny the allegation.

The report also found that Flood had personally helped the student by suggesting changes to an email and to a paper he wrote for the professor, but it found that the aid was not a violation of university policy.

Academic advisers had made Flood aware of the student’s struggles in a class in April. The student’s final grade, issued in May, made him ineligible for this season, the report said.

On July 26, Flood emailed the professor offering to let the student complete extra work to achieve a sufficient grade “during football hours,” according to the report, which quoted the email as saying it was sent from the coach’s personal account to the professor’s private account “to ensure there will be no public vetting of the correspondence.”

There followed a series of emails and, on Aug. 5, an in-person meeting in Princeton, N.J., at which, according to the professor, Flood deliberately wore no Rutgers gear in an attempt to avoid being identified in public.

The next day, the professor emailed the student, giving him the opportunity to submit a new paper in 10 days. When Flood told an academic adviser that there would be a grade change, the adviser professed to not wanting “any part in this,” the report said.

Flood edited both the student’s thank-you response to the professor and the final paper itself, the report said.

Beyond his brief statement, Flood had no comment on the report. At a news conference Monday, Flood said, in response to a question about Caroo: “As the head coach, everything ultimately reflects on you and it’s part of the job. If you shy away from that, you probably shouldn’t do the job.” He went on to defend the “quality” of his players.

After the Penn State game Saturday, Rutgers plays home games against Kansas and No. 4 Michigan State. Flood will be eligible to return for an Oct. 17 game at Indiana.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B13 of the New York edition with the headline: Coach of Troubled Rutgers Is Suspended Three Games. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe